


(Were)Whisperer

by wakandan_wardog



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hydra (Marvel), M/M, Multi, Werewolves
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-17
Updated: 2018-07-17
Packaged: 2019-06-11 19:06:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15322236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wakandan_wardog/pseuds/wakandan_wardog
Summary: In a world where Aliens rain destruction from portals through space, ancient Gods arrive on beams of light, and a certain Billionaire Philanthropist darts around the world in a metal suit: there really is a very high bar for what is considered "weird". Shapeshifters hardly register, having been long known. You’re either a Human, a Were, or a Whisperer. Most people can prove whether they’re the first or the second, a few will lie about being the third.Alternately, there's Tony. Tony Stark is one of the few people pretending the first and burying the third, and he’s more or less in the clear with it until Steve Rogers catches up with the Winter Soldier, and brings him home to Avengers Tower.Tony doesn’t have to say a word, the Wolf knows differently.





	(Were)Whisperer

Standing on the outside of the Hulk Containment Room, Tony Stark folds his arms over his chest to protect the arc reactor and leans back against the wall.  His eyes remain fixed on the wall of poly-glass stretching out before him, lips flattened to hold back his observations. There isn’t a point in sharing his thoughts at the moment, with Natasha in the control room and Steve in the Containment Room itself, no one would hear him anyway.

Still, Tony is certain that the current tenant of the room is more furious than the Hulk has ever been within these walls, an unwilling captive desperate to escape. Not that Tony would blame him, the Winter Soldier has been a captive and a prisoner of war for longer than any other in history.

As though he senses Tony’s sympathy, and resents it, the large black wolf gathers himself again and launches. He strikes the wall in the exact same place, precise and vicious, but the wall holds. Still Tony flinches at the muffled sound of impact, audible even with the external speakers turned off, and swallows.

He will not show fear. He _will not_.

Even with the reassuring weight of the armor nesting in his bones, he’s glad to be on this side of the glass. Still, there’s no arguing with Captain America, so Steve Rogers stands in the room alone, dodging the wolf and attempting to talk it back down to quietude. Tony can’t hear what he says, but could read his lips if he wanted to. Or he could make Clint read Steve’s lips, if Clint were around.

But Clint is in medical, the marks from wolf teeth up one forearm, with Bruce to keep him company. Tony knows he’ll make it, knows that Clint is up to date on his serum so he probably won’t shift when the moon comes around. But there’s always a chance.

There’s a chance he may not make it through this fully human. There’s a guarantee that he’ll carry scars.

 _‘Maybe he wouldn’t have if you’d been there faster.’_ An obnoxious little voice points out. Tony stifles it, furious enough to curl his lip back and bare his own teeth, but immediately regrets the decision.

The Wolf can see him, changes trajectory and launches right at the glass that separates him from Tony. Before it was a bid for escape, now it’s an aggressive move, possibly brought on by Tony’s unconscious posturing, possibly by Steve’s words. Regardless, Tony shifts nervously in place, watching the massive black wolf find his paws once again and launch himself at the nearest window yet again. There’s a solid sound as he strikes and falls back, but the glass shows no sign of warping yet. Tony’s confident in his engineering, up to a point.

The Containment Room is meant for the Hulk, for immediate fury and raw power. It’s not built for a cunning captive, and for all that he has rage and strength in spades, the Winter Soldier is still cunning. He leaps and strikes again, this time scratching at the glass with the claws on his metal foreleg. The poly-glass whines, and thin ribbons peel off in the wake of the claws.

Tony flinches, he can’t help it.

Steve moves forward, barking a name that’s more like an order, his sky-colored eyes sorrowful when the wolf ignores him. Steve’s told stories of Bucky doing many things, but at no point did his best friend ignore him, so Tony understands the sorrow. Not that he would be trying to order Rhodey around if he’d just recovered his best friend from HYDRA’s slimy tentacles after about five decades of torture. But then, Steve and Tony are very different people.

Steve, for one, is _human_.

Unlike Tony. Maybe the Wolf knows that.

Maybe that’s the reason the Wolf hasn’t stopped.

As Tony considers it there’s another muffled-crash of impact, a whine as metal gouges into the shallow trenches already marking the poly-glass. It’s peeling in layers, like a lathe taken to acrylic. Still solid, but becoming less and less so. Tony makes a mental note to swap the panel out, chewing at his lip as he hears the speakers crackle to life.

“He does that again, Steve, and you both get gassed.” Natasha warns, cool and implacable. “Either you redirect him, or I put him out.”

“What do you think I’ve been tryin’ ta do?” Steve snaps, Brooklyn in his tone revealing just how stressed he is. He runs a hand through his battle-sweaty hair, sending the blond mass into awkward spikes. “He ain’t listenin’ ta me.”

The wolf shows no sign of listening to Natasha either, but has paused in his launching to pace parallel to the now-scratched window-segment like a tiger at the zoo. Even with the metal limb he’s beautiful to Tony’s eyes, wild and stubborn. All over blacker than a night without stars, the beast stands on three powerful natural legs and a brightly glinting metallic forelimb. For all that it is a product of HYDRA, it shifts with him, and he loses no amount of grace for it. He’s deadly on four legs or two, and he’s proven it.

The respite is over and he paces away again, returning at a sprint to make a forceful leap at the panel. It shows no sign of giving, but strips and flecks of the proprietary Stark material it’s made of litter the floor beneath. Storm blue eyes dart down at the broken pieces, up to the shallow grooves, and then over to Tony’s face.

Tony can see the intelligence in that wild gaze, straightens up when the wolf watches him unblinkingly. This is the Winter Soldier, a ShapeShifter that’s very clearly wild, raging, unwilling to be held captive. His ears are alert, the posture of body –shoulders to tail- is powerful and aggressive and Alpha. As Tony watches the Wolf growls, ramping up to an all-out snarl when Steve tries to step closer. His jaws are wide and teeth large, white with wickedly long fangs.

Tony is glad that he’s on this side of the Containment Room, but he knows it’s all temporary. They don’t have a long-term housing plan for the Soldier, not when he’s in this state. But Steve won’t give up on him, won’t let them turn him over to SHIELD if they suggest it.

Tony wouldn’t suggest it in the first place, mostly because he knows Steve would refuse but also as a matter of professional pride. If Tony Stark can contain, redirect, and befriend the Hulk then there’s no reason that he can’t do something with a Werewolf. There’s certainly no way that SHIELD could do better.

“Steve, one more chance.” Natasha chides, and Tony doesn’t have to be in the room with her to know that she’s got her hand on the button.

“I’m workin’ on it!” Steve snaps.

“Work faster.” Natasha replies. “He goes for Tony again, and you’re both going under. Bruce says you’ll wake up with a migraine but suffer no lasting symptoms, I’m willing to take that win.”

“Course you are, you’re out there and don’t gotta worry about it.” Steve mumbles. “Bucky, _please_ stay away from the glass.”

Tony watches Steve try to calm the pacing wolf, approaching with his hands outspread and speaking in a soothing tone. It backfires, as he knew it would, the great black and silver creature responding to the approach with a curl of its lip and a loud, rumbling snarl.

He knows he could stop this all in a minute, just by walking into the room.

So he turns his back and leaves the floor entirely, ignoring the sound of impact against the wall once more.

Steve's always been big about fighting his own battles, so Tony welcomes him to do just that. The Winter Soldier is Steve's project, Tony won't get involved. 

*

Alone in the control room, Natasha presses the button for Night-Night gas and watches both Steve and the Wolf breathe it in. They slowly stagger and then sink to the floor, Steve swearing in a muttered tone as he finally topples over and the Wolf giving a low growl before his paws give out and he slumps to the side. She keeps it up a little longer, wanting him well and truly out before she goes in there to wrestle the SuperSoldier out. 

“Well.” Tasha sighs to herself. “That could have gone better.”

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to all of my WinterIron babes who wanted Shifters from me. 
> 
> I wonder... do we want more of this?


End file.
